Lipé House of Wellness
In Which an Intrepid Reporter Goes Deep Into Herself
Whether we’re constantly working, going through hardship, or just dealing with everything life throws at us, it’s safe to say that we could all use some relaxation and revitalization. When I saw that my favorite yoga instructor was hosting a one-day retreat at Lipé House of Wellness, I took it as a sign for some much-needed self-care.
Walking into the salmon pink building on Le Jeune Road, I found myself a bit reserved. I wasn’t sure what to expect — and was definitely not prepared for my mind and body’s reaction.
We started with breathwork. Lying down on yoga mats with pillows under our heads and our legs elevated, we looked up at our instructor, Ben, as he introduced us to the Wim Hof approach to cold training. To prepare ourselves for the looming cold plunge, Ben guided us through our breathing with escalating sets of inhales and exhales broken up by increasing lapses of holding our breath.
With each relieving sigh, I felt a slight tingling in the tips of my fingers and the apples of my cheeks. Deep into the session, my ears popped. Ben assured us that these reactions were normal. What caught me most off-guard were the instinctual tears rolling down my face as I felt the weight of my stress expel itself from my body. A breakthrough.
Now that I was strapped into this wellness rollercoaster, it was time to conquer the drop: the cold plunge. The bathtub was set at a cool 40 degrees. “It’s going to feel stressful,” Ben explained. “You’re going to learn how to control that through your breath. And by practicing over and over, you’ll learn how to deescalate your stress.” Flashing back to summer afternoons at the freezing Venetian Pool, I took the plunge. And… I absolutely loved it. Focusing on the slight numbness of my toes, I made it three minutes with an easy smile.
After a quick warming in the infrared sauna, we moved into the meditation room, which features an Energy Enhancement System made up of four screens at each corner of the room, combining “body, mind, spirit, and science to help you… reach higher states of health, consciousness, and self-actualization through frequency and ‘scalar waves.’” Okay… I thought, feeling my skepticism return.
Sitting in reclinable sofa chairs with headphones and eye masks, we laid back and listened to a guided meditation while slurping up lemon-flavored activated charcoal. Not as gross as it sounds!
Finally, we began the main event: a two-hour yoga session with April May Gardner, moving through deep twists and turns that activated our muscles and got us sweating. Some of the more advanced students stretched out in splits and balanced on their heads. My moves were more reserved, to say the least.
We finished the retreat gathered in a large group, chanting “ohms” as we reflected on the experience of disconnecting from the world in favor of connecting with ourselves. With all of the day’s experiences available any time at Lipé, I’ll definitely be back for a cold plunge and a yoga session, at least.
Looking for other ways to relax and revitalize? Check out our Beauty & Wellness section.
Lipé House of Wellness
4928 S Le Jeune Rd.
786.778.7551
lipehow.com